Crittenden Estate Peninsula Pinot Noir 2013

The Oddbins Take

Winemaker and Mornington Peninsula pioneer Garry Crittenden, has established a firm reputation in the 30-odd years he has been in the winemaking game. However, he likes to keep a down-to-earth view of things and, having started out in horticulture, prefers to see himself as a gardener. This view is part of a broader philosophy that ‘great wines are created in the vineyard and are only enhanced in the vats and barrels’ and, combined with time honoured techniques including treading the grapes by foot, the result is breath-taking. The natural, hands-on approach seems to agree with the Pinot Noir grapes, which have been encouraged to make this softly-structured, delicately fruited, poised wine right here.

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Oddbins will deliver to all UK addresses and we accept orders from abroad for delivery within the UK.

For Orders over £100, Standard Delivery is Free and this includes all Islands, Scottish Highlands and Northern Ireland addresses that would otherwise be subject to higher delivery costs. We have no minimum order requirements and, subject to availability of stock, we will process all 'Next Day' orders placed before 2pm UK time on the same working day (orders placed after 2pm Friday will be processed Monday). The following delivery options are available for your order:

UK Mainland Addresses

(excludes Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, and the Isles of Wight, Man and Scilly - please see below)

Delivery Service

Price

Additional Information

Standard

£4.95

FREE

Most Standard Delivery parcels arrive within 2 working days of placement of your order.

Free Standard Delivery is offered on all orders of £100 or more.

Next Day

£6.95

If you place an order by 2pm (UK time), Monday - Thursday, it will be delivered the next day*. Orders placed between 2pm on Thursday and 2pm on Friday will be delivered on the following Monday and orders placed between 2pm Friday and 2pm Monday will be delivered on the following Tuesday.

Saturday

£11.95 (all order values)

Orders must be placed online by 2pm Friday to be delivered on the Saturday of the same week, otherwise it is assumed the order is for the following Saturday. Available for most UK Mainland Postcodes.

Next Day Before 12noon

£12.95 (all values)

Available for most UK Mainland Postcodes.Orders must be placed online by 2pm for delivery the next working day.

Next Day Before 10am

£19.95 (all values)

Available for most UK Mainland Postcodes.Orders must be placed online by 2pm for delivery the next working day.

Multidrop

From £4.95 per order per address

FREE

We are experts in delivery to multiple addresses. You can complete your entire order online. Read more at Multidrop Orders Please call 0800 328 2323 if you would like assistance with the process or email customer.services@oddbins.com.

Free delivery is available to any address(es) included as part of a Multi-drop Order where the value of goods being sent to the address(es) is £100 or more.

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Same Day

£25

Same Day Delivery is available in some parts of the country via telephone orders only. Please call 0800 328 2323 Monday to Friday - preferably by 2pm - or click here for more information

We can only offer Standard Delivery to these parts of the UK and delivery times will vary locally. Typically, orders placed before 2pm should be received in 3 or 4 working days, although some of the most rural locations may take longer.**All orders over £100 will qualify for Free Delivery.

Timed Delivery

We are currently unable to offer timed deliveries, however if you would like us to hold back on a despatch we will do our utmost to help your parcel arrive as near as possible to a particular day. Please email customer.services@oddbins.com or call 0800 328 2323 for assistance with this.

Track your Order

You can track your parcel online by logging in if you have registered an account. Alternatively, please call customer services on 0800 328 2323, where someone will be able to help you. Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5:30pm. You can also email customer.services@oddbins.com for assistance. We track every parcel twice daily to the point of completed delivery. So if you are sending from overseas and concerned about the delivery, please rest assured that it WILL reach your recipient. If we notice any irregularity or unfortunate incident such as breakage we will take immediate action to re-despatch the parcel. Should the delivery be attempted when the recipient is out, a card will be left. Should the delivery be repeatedly carded, and no communication has been made from the recipient following 5 days, the parcel will be returned to us. Whilst occasionally parcels are delayed due to issues beyond our control should they be severely delayed we will contact you with an update. If you have any questions regarding your parcel please email customer.services@oddbins.com or call 0800 328 2323. We encourage senders to include the recipients mobile number when placing the order to ensure live courier tracking information reaches the correct person, and thus enhance the likelihood of delivery.

More Information

We hope that the above will answer all your questions. You can find more information in our full Delivery Policy. Should you have further enquiries please call 0800 328 2323 during UK office hours - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. You will come directly through to our online operations team and your call will be dealt with by a real person who will be able to help you.

*Subject to stock availability and successful payment authorisation, your order will be despatched the next working day after you place your order, or the same day if you order before 2pm. Our Standard Delivery is then a 2 day service for most of the mainland UK from date of despatch. As most orders are delivered via a third party courier, we cannot offer absolutely guaranteed delivery times, however the vast majority of orders placed arrive within 2 working days.

**Remote areas typically take an extra 1-3 days to arrive, although some rural locations can take longer.

The Style

Grape

Pinot Noir

Oak

Body

LightFull bodied

Sweetness

DrySweet

More Views

Garry Crittenden’s long-standing love of wine saw him move from horticulture to viticulture at about the same time that Mornington Peninsula was emerging as a wine growing area. Their first plantings in 1982, a mere five acres, more than doubled the area under vine in the region. In 1992 the cellar door tasting room and the winery café under Margaret Crittenden’s culinary expertise marked the beginning of wine tourism in the area and a new industry for the Peninsula. That humble but popular cafe is now one of the Peninsula's acclaimed restaurants under the ownership of Zac and Jacqui Poulier. Although they're a vineyard, they say they really see themselves as farmers.

They are not driven by a green philosophy; they just do what they have always done, which is to look after their soil and vines, so that they are kind to the environment and continue to produce quality wines. Their mantra has always been that great wines are created in the vineyard and are only enhanced in the vats and barrels. It probably comes from Garry’s horticultural background, but it is also overlaid with respect for the environment and a lot of common sense about how you treat the land for sustainability. They minimise chemical use and synthetic products, preferring to use cover crops such as peas and oats, compost and recycled water. This builds natural disease resistance in the vineyard, which makes healthier vines and grapes and the result is simply better wine.

Garry’s children Rollo and Zoe grew-up among the young vines, and it was possibly the magic of grape growing that encouraged Rollo to head to the vineyards of Italy and America after finishing studying at Charles Sturt University. It was here, experiencing vintage internationally, where he honed the skills acquired from watching his father. Garry was one of the first in Australia to commercialise Italian wine varieties and now the second generation, siblings Rollo and Zoe, have since also embraced the enticing varieties of rural Spain.

We’re not sure whether it’s a case of ‘nature or nurture’, but Rollo’s award as ‘Australian Young Gun of Wine’ and Garry’s elevation to a wine industry ‘legend’ of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival might point to the fact that it’s something in the genes. Drawing from over 50 years of combined winemaking experience, Rollo and Garry have taken the opportunity to complement their existing winery equipment with some exciting additions to ensure continued improvement in wine quality well into the future. The use of Conveyor Belts and gravity instead of abrasive Augers and Must Pumps as well as oak fermenters instead of stainless steel are some of the many improvements introduced and ensure the delicate tannin profile of all their Pinots are maintained. Additionally, the facility’s large cool-room is perfect for retaining aromatics in Chardonnay ferments, while the ability to divide the barrel store into three separate sections will ensure ideal maturation conditions can be maintained year round.

While keeping in touch with advances in equipment is important, as Garry frequently suggests, some winemaking traditions should always remain. Hence all red wine ferments will still be plunged by hand (and in many instances by foot) as has been done in the great houses of Burgundy for hundreds of years.

This wine walks the middle ground between being fruit driven and more complex and structured. Each of the contributing clones – 114, 115 and MV6 – bring a unique character to the wine. Ideal ripening conditions and minimal yields have also contributed a level of complexity and a bright ruby red colour which further enhance the length and age-worthiness of the wine. The texture is rich and structured with soft tannins and a poised, refreshing finish.